A Warrior is Born: The Ninja Chronicles Part I
by Jeladore Black
Summary: He was a shinobi of Sabbathnia. He had traveled to the Salean Country seeking to end his suffering and reclaim the honor of his clan and country. His name was Fericul and this is his story. Original fic with Naruto elements. R&R!
1. The Great War

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, never have, never will, la fin.**

_A/N: Well... this fic isn't my own, but a friends and so I hath agreed to post it for them :). Do enjoy and plz review. -Jela_

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**Prologue**

The air was cold that night in the Salean Country, with an icy breeze blowing through the trees. The sky was dark, with ominous clouds blotting out the moon and stars. Great fires burning in the east allowed just enough light to see a man walking alone.

He trudged wearily down the dusty dirt road, clutching his broken left arm with a bleeding right. He hobbled as he went, the shuriken wound in his right leg sending a searing pain up through his body with each agonizing step.

He was a shinobi of Sabbathnia, a once great land that now lie in ruins. He had traveled to the Salean Country seeking to end his suffering and perhaps reclaim the honor of his clan and country. His name was Fericul and this is his story.

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**The Great War**

It was the mid 1940's and the Great Shinobi War had finally ceased. The warring countries of Foyron, Sabbathnia, Raizengor and Salean had finally come to a peace agreement after several years of fighting. Although each country had taken heavy damage, Sabbathnia was the best off; especially one clan in particular.

The Aeron Clan was that clan. They were highly skilled wind-shinobi who held a special ability over wind. They had the ability to use their spirit energy (the energy inside all living beings) to control the wind, shaping it and altering it's currents to their will. While children could only cause small breezes, adults were able to punch holes through brick walls. One Aeron had been able to conjure tornado-like winds to destroy his enemies and protect Sabbathnia. Many Aerons had followed in his footsteps, but none had achieved a power such as his.

With the Great War now over and peace at hand, the Aeron Clan had moved away from seeking physical power. They were more focused on rebuilding their country and village.

One young Aeron by the name of Fericul however, was not so content as to sit back and watch the other shinobi countries rebuild their armies. Only fifteen years old, he already saw that the peace talks were merely a front, a front for another Great War. The Salean Country had taken heavy damage from Sabbathnia and Raizengor, but it was quickly rebuilding. He knew that the Salean Country would attack as soon as they had the means. And that was not too far off.

One sunny afternoon as Fericul sat in his room, listening to his favorite metal station on his radio, a news announcement came on. "This is KCBC news reporter John Talaron reporting to you live from Sabbathnia's Capital Hill. We have just received word that the Prime Ministers of both Sabbathnia and Salean are nearing a trade agreement. This means that many Salean Country companies will now be able to sell their products in the Sabbathnian marketplaces. It also means that the Sabbathnia Shinobi Army will have their alert status reduced to..."

Fericul knocked the radio to the floor with a loud _CRASH_ , disgusted by what he was hearing. Rushing out of his own room, Fericul headed down the hall to his Father's study.

_BOOM!_ He kicked in his father's door. "What is the meaning of this!" his father exclaimed.

"I have come to ask YOU the same question" retorted Fericul. "How can you allow the Prime Minister to do this?"

His father was puzzled, "Do what?"

"Do what? Do what! The peace talks were bad enough, but lowering the trade embargo on the Saleans? That's simply unacceptable, even for you to allow, Dracon." Fericul addressed his father by his first name to show his disrespect for him.

Dracon spoke in a calm and cool voice to his son, "I have no power in these matters. Were I to interfere, the public would learn of the Aeron's connections to the Prime Minister."

Deep down, Fericul knew his father was right, but he argued anyway. "Surely you must know that the Salean Country is rebuilding their army as we speak. With every passing day, more and more civilians join the Salean Ninja Army. They lost before because they lacked two things: numbers and surprise. They will not be so foolish as to make the same mistakes twice.

"The peace talks were a front and the trade agreement is only meant to lure us into a false sense of security. You must have seen this by now! If the prime minister is allowed to sign this new agreement with the Salean Country, then Sabbathnia is doomed."

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**Father and Son**

Dracon sat quietly for a time, levying the situation. _Is the boy right? _Dracon thought to himself._ And if so, how can I stop the situation without ruining everything I have worked so hard to achieve?_

For years Dracon and the Aeron Clan had been involved with the Prime Minister. They were his body guards, his chefs, his butlers, and every other kind of manservant. They had worked their way into his household and life without him even noticing.

Then one day Dracon made a move. He sent a message to the Prime Minister demanding that he do as the Aeron Clan wishes, or he will suffer the consequences. They slowly let him know of their presence in his life, and once he understood just what kind of presence they had in his life, he quickly agreed to their terms. He realized that they could destroy him at a moments notice, physically and politically.

And so the Prime Minister's political views began to change, in favor of the Aeron Clan of course. And he was not left uncompensated. They kept his bank account high and kept him in office. All of this went unnoticed by the public and other government officials.

But the current situation was much different. Should Dracon choose to force the Prime Minister in his favor, the public would realize what was going on. The Aeron Clan was highly respected in Sabbathnia, but also known for their hatred of the Salean Country. The people would not miss so obvious a move by the Prime Minister, and Dracon knew this.

"I have decided to let the Prime Minister do as he wishes," Dracon said to Fericul "I cannot allow the people of Sabbathnia to know of the clan's ties to the Prime Minister. It would bring a great dishonor to us all."

Fericul flew into a rage at the hearing this. He leapt at his father and punched him hard in the face. "Kaiser Fist!" Fericul screamed as he concentrated his spirit energy around his fist. With a loud "HA!" he landed a blow in his father's chest strong enough to send his father careening back into the wall and crashing to the ground.

Dracon coughed lightly and stood up. Dusting himself off, he said to his son, "You have a long way to go if you want to stand up to the Salean Country. You can't even land a decent blow on your old man. I may be the most powerful living Aeron, but being my son you should at least be able to make me bleed. You arrogant little brat! Allow me to teach you a lesson that you shall not soon forget."

Dracon balled up his fists and began to breathe heavily. The room began to shake as he gathered energy. The air became cold and dense. Furniture began to lift up off of the ground a few feet and hover. Knick-knacks and assorted smaller items swirled madly above Fericul and Dracon's heads.

Suddenly everything came crashing to the floor with a _BANG!_ Fericul blinked and his father stood before him. Dracon muttered beneath his breath so lightly Fericul could not hear what he said. He then placed his hand on Fericul's chest. Before Fericul had a chance to open his mouth to scream, he was sent flying backwards in a clockwise spin. The last thing Fericul saw was the plaster and wood shooting past him as we crashed through a wall and blacked out.


	2. Dreams and Awakenings

**Disclaimer: Own nothing. **

**A Strange Dream**

"Uhnn…" Fericul moaned. _Where am I? _he thought to himself.

He began to open his eyes but as soon as he did a bright light forced him to blink several times and squint. He could hear muffled voices about him and his vision was quite blurry.

A dark figure walked over to him and picked up his right arm. There was a sudden stinging sensation and then everything went black again.

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**Rude Awakenings**

Fericul's eyes shot open and he bolted upright. This time his vision and hearing were acute as ever.

He looked around and saw he was in a very peculiar and quite bland little room. Across from him a man lay face down on a cot. His arm hung over the side and in it he held a half-empty bottle of alcohol. There was a small kitchen area next to the drunken man and noticing the fridge, Fericul rolled out of bed and over to it.

Bracing himself against the top of the fridge, he opened the lower half. Delicious smells floated out to him, making his stomach growl. Inside there was a plate of food already prepared; fried chicken with mashed potatoes. He snatched it out along with a can of soda and a bottle of barbecue sauce. After drenching the chicken in sauce, Fericul grabbed a fork and began to devour the meal.

He popped open the can and took a drink. At the sound the man on the cot grumbled incoherently and rolled onto his back, dropping the bottle with a _thud_. Fericul looked over and after a moment realized he knew the man.

He set down his plate and walked over to the man on the cot. It was his friend Vireos from the Ninja Academy. And yet, it was not. This man was probably three or four years older than the Vireos he had seen just the other day.

"What is going on here?" Fericul exclaimed. Just as he said that the door to the room he was in flew open and four large men in black quarantine suits rushed in. They surrounded him and drew out an array of very odd looking weapons.

Fericul crouched low, and began to gather his spirit energy for the battle they had just brought to him. He moved into his battle stance: knees bent, back slightly arched, and arms up in boxing position. He closed his eyes and began to focus the gathered spirit energy.

"Calm down, calm down. These men are not here to hurt you," a raspy voice poured out from a previously unnoticed speaker on the ceiling. "They have come to take you to another room. We need to run some tests on you now that you have finally woken up. This may come as somewhat of a shock to you, but you have been in a coma for about three years now."

The news hit Fericul like a ton of bricks. _Three years? How can that be? Only yesterday I had that fight with my father in his room…_

"You're lying!" he yelled at the voice from the ceiling. "I won't have any of this nonsense!" He charged the quarantine man nearest to him. "Nyaaah!"

Before Fericul had a chance to defend himself the four men simultaneously fired their weapons, releasing bolts of electricity at him with a loud _TZZZZAP! _He screamed and fell to the floor in a lifeless heap.

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**Down Down Down**

The men reached forward to pick him up off the ground, but lurched back as the voice from the ceiling boomed, "Be careful! He is the last of our test subjects and the only one to date that has survived. Should he be damaged I will see to it that all of your heads are on a platter! Now take him to Laboratory B and tell Doctor Eight to run the tests as soon as the subject regains consciousness." The men put Fericul on a stretcher, strapped him down, and proceeded to do as the voice had instructed.

Exiting the room, they headed down a long, white corridor devoid of any marking. The only thing that interrupted the white were more doors, leading to rooms with horrors unknown locked within them.

They reached the end of the corridor and turned left, entering an elevator just large enough to accommodate them all. As they pushed Fericul into the elevator, the wheels of the stretcher bumped into the grate separating the floor from the elevator. Immediately Fericul woke up and exclaimed, "What are you doing! Where are you taking me!" He began to struggle violently, attempting to free himself from the restraints.

"Stop this behavior now," one of the men said to him.

"Screw you! Let me out of this!" he screamed back. The man moved over towards Fericul and punched him extremely hard in the stomach. Fericul let out an "oof!" and was silent after that. The elevator door closed and the man nearest the controls hit a button, beginning their descent.

After what seemed like an eternity to Fericul, the elevator came to a halt. The door opened and a horrid smell of rotten eggs rushed in at them. A tall man in a white lab coat and thin blue rimmed glasses was standing at the doorway, apparently waiting for them. "I will take the patient now. Were there any special instructions that came along with this one?" he asked the men.

The one who had punched Fericul stepped forward and said, "The general's orders were to begin the tests immediately. However they must be performed by Doctor Eight."

"Yes, yes. That is me. Now just hand him over and I shall get to work right away." Doctor Eight said. "Oh, and tell the general if you will that the tests should be finished within a few days. And that I will send the results up to him myself as soon as I am done."


	3. Super Soldiers and Bloody Tales

**Disclaimer: I own none of the names, characters, etc of this story. **

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**The Coming of the Super Soldier**

The men returned to the elevator and disappeared.

Doctor Eight wheeled Fericul over to an examining table and began to remove the restraints. "Don't worry young man. I will only be running a few simple tests on you; vision, hearing, reflexes, etcetera" he said in a quiet voice. "It won't be anything big, I am just going to keep you here for a couple of days so that you may have time to readjust before they get a hold of you again."

The doctor removed the last strap holding Fericul down. "Now get up on the table and we will get started."

Fericul did as he was told, but winced as he pulled himself up. A sharp pain had shot through his ribs. _Apparently the shots from those strange weapons did more damage than I had previously assumed_ he thought.

The doctor was over at a counter, fiddling around in some drawers. He picked up a clipboard off the counter, as well as a few instruments from the drawers. He placed the items in his pockets and returned to the table where Fericul was at. "We shall begin with your vision test," he said. "This thing right here," he produced a small, thin, black cylinder that looked much like a flashlight from his pocket, "Will scan your retina to make sure that there are no abnormalities".

He held open Fericul's eye and pressed a button on the strange instrument. It flashed an eerie green light and almost instantly Fericul began to feel sick. His stomach churned, and his head began to ache. His vision became blurry and sounds were all muffled.

The doctor chuckled a bit, and then said, "Sorry, but that was a lie. I really just injected you with a super-soldier drug, the second one you have been subjected to. The side effects really suck, but the outcome will be awesome. You already gained increased speed, strength and the ability to think much faster in battle from the original drug you received when you were still unconscious. But you now have the ability to use any wind attack of the Aeron clan, or any of the famed water moves that the clans of Raizengor utilize. Most importantly, you can now use any technique you see just once. That is the advantage of the shot in the eye. I have actually changed your DNA. So, be happy. You are a super-human now."

"How could you do this to me?" Fericul asked the doctor, but he did not hear a reply. He passed out and fell over on the bed.

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**More Rude Awakenings**

When he awoke, Fericul was face down on a cold dirt floor. He rolled onto his back and sat up. Glancing about the room he saw that he was in a very large building, twice the size of a football stadium. There were two large, stone pillars off to the far right wall, each with what seemed like doors on them. Also the room contained many things one might find in an army training course; rope ladders, icy cold ponds, walls to climb over, barbed wire pits, etc.

One thing in particular had caught Fericul's attention though; there was a lot of blood near the stone pillars. As he headed over to them, the doors he had noticed earlier began to slide open in a rumbling sound. Without warning two men poured from them and immediately they charged at Fericul.

Each man was dressed in a simple black outfit, with a black hood and mask covering much of their face. Both carried a plain, black pouch on their hips containing throwing knives (kunai) and stars (shuriken), as well as smoke bombs and small explosives. They were very well built and yet extraordinarily fast for their size. Within moments they had covered the entire distance between themselves and Fericul.

The first to reach him made strange symbols with his hands and shouted, "Earth Dragon Technique!" Just as he did this, the ground began to shake and move. The floor in front of the man erupted and took the shape of a dragon. Fericul was astonished at this and did not know what to do.

As Fericul was about to run, the dragon shot forward at him with great speed, slamming into him and pummeling him into the ground. Fericul hopped up right away and ran to a nearby pond. Without knowing what he was doing, he gathered his spirit energy, and shouted, "Aqua Lion Attack!" As quickly as the earth dragon had appeared, a lion made of water burst out of the pond and charged the first ninja. He dodged the first blow, but the lion nailed him on the second try. It then leapt into the air and slammed down on top of the ninja with a force so great it broke his ribcage and killed him instantly. With this the lion disappeared in an impressive splash of water.

But before the lion's splash had finished hitting the ground, the second ninja came whizzing through the water. He made hand symbols just as strange to Fericul as the first had. He then yelled out, "Super Strength Enhancement!" His spirit energy became so great Fericul was able to sense it although he was some twenty feet away.

The ninja charged at Fericul, throwing punches and kicks left and right. Knowing that he had super strength, Fericul did his best to avoid the ninja's blows, but it was no use. After a few moments the ninja landed a punch right in Fericul's chest, and then a kick to his stomach. He finished it off with a fierce uppercut to the jaw, sending Fericul careening backwards into the pond.

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**The Second Ninja**

Fericul was only under the water for a moment before he burst out and, using his wind powers, he hovered above the pond. He was amazed; he had never been this powerful before. _Maybe what that doctor did to me wasn't so bad after all, _he thought to himself._ My Aeron wind powers have increased in strength dramatically, I just used a technique I have never even heard of before, and I was slammed into the ground by a powerful earth-type move and it did nothing to me._

However Fericul's thoughts were interrupted by the ninja very quickly. He jumped high into the air and Fericul watched his every move; the same kinds of hand movements as always, the gathering of spirit energy, and the shouting of the name of a technique. The ninja shouted out, "Rain of Fire!" and shot forth several small blasts of fire from his mouth.

Fericul shot a gust of air into the pond beneath him, spraying water high into the air. The fireballs dissipated as soon as they hit the water, but out of them came many shuriken. Fericul had been taken off guard and he didn't know what he was going to do to get out of this one. He thought quickly, _my powers have increased right? Well, then I should be able to send out a gust of wind strong enough to deflect all of the shuriken at once._ So he focused what energy he had gathered, thrust his hands forward and put all his might into a blast of wind. Sure enough, all of the throwing stars were sent flying off in different directions.

In an instant there was a stabbing pain in Fericul's back. His neck jutted out and he let forth a horrible scream. He had not noticed the ninja moving around behind him. The ninja had used the Rain of Fire to hide the ninja stars, and the ninja stars to distract Fericul. He had snuck around and stabbed Fericul in the back with a kunai. It had all worked quite well and now Fericul found himself at a great disadvantage; he was injured and low on spirit energy and his enemy hadn't a scratch on him.

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**Ultimate Typhoon**

Again Fericul thought back to what the doctor had done to him, _he said I could use all of the Raizengor water techniques. And_ _because my own wind powers are stronger, I should be able to use them in combination._ He remembered that some of the most powerful Aerons ever had been able to conjure tornados and so he figured he should be able to do the same, what with his newfound powers. Fericul began to spin wildly in the air above the pond, all the while pulling both wind and spirit energy towards him. He then jumped out of it and quickly jutted the tornado he was creating down into the water, sucking it all up. Then yelling out, "Ultimate Typhoon!" he launched it forward at the ninja.

The ninja tried to escape, but it was no use. The winds from the typhoon sucked him right in as though he were nothing. Fericul heard him scream in pain as he was beaten around inside. With this Fericul pulled the kunai from his back, formed the sign language symbols for "Kunai Replication" and poured his remaining spirit energy into the kunai. This caused it to multiply into 30 more kunai. Then Fericul hurled them all into the tornado and listened as the ninja screamed more painfully than before as he was shredded up and stabbed by the kunai.

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**A Bloody Tale**

After it raged for about 20 seconds, the typhoon died down and the water came splashing to the ground. The ninja appeared washed up on a rock. His clothes were torn up and he was bleeding from several places on his body. He began to cough violently, so Fericul flew down to see how badly the ninja was injured.

As he drew nearer to the ninja, he noticed the ninja was laboriously breathing, with a heavy wheeze and a cough of blood every now and then. Landing next to him, Fericul could see both of his legs were broken and his left arm was mangled beyond all hope of repair. The ninja lifted his head up and spoke in a guttural voice, "You have done it. You are the hope of the Sabbathnians. Being a Salean myself I wanted to prove the higher ups wrong. But I failed miserably. You have been given a gift, the ability to use all of the Aeron and Raizengor moves, as well as the ability to use any move you come in contact with. Those attacks we used on you, they are now your own."

"So all of this was merely a test?" Fericul asked the ninja as he lifted him up off of the rock and onto the ground. "It was all just to try out my new abilities as a super-soldier? Who are these 'higher ups' you spoke of?"

The ninja coughed up a small amount of blood and began to shake. Fericul grabbed him and held him still. "Answer me! I must know!" he demanded of the now obviously dying ninja.

"Yes, they only wanted to know if the drugs had really worked," he replied. "I was captured a few months ago and since then I have been battling their 'super soldiers' as they call them. My only hope for survival was to fight they said. And the higher ups, they are the last of Sabbathnia.

"About a year after the trade agreements were finalized, the Salean Shinobi Army invaded Sabbathnia. They attacked one village after another, destroying everyone and everything they came across; women, children, livestock, houses, everything." The ninja paused for a moment and coughed up more blood. He was getting weak now, but Fericul had no training in medical techniques so there was nothing he could do.

"They hit a snag however, when they reached the village inhabited by the Aeron Clan. Those Aerons, they were mighty powerful. Put up a good fight. But one clan alone cannot stand up to the might of an entire army. They held the Saleans off for days, and many brutal and bloody battles were fought. But in the end, only their leader, Dracon, was left. He himself held the army at bay for a good three days. He went out in a blaze of glory, so to speak. He wiped out several platoons with his Tornado of Fury technique, but it was really quite pointless. He ran out of spirit energy and was taken prisoner. They tortured him for weeks in an attempt to force him to reveal the secrets of his moves to them. He held steady to the end, and finally, they burned him alive for his insolence."

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**...Review!**


	4. Of Mighty Salean and Dark Proposals

**Disclaimer: I do not own the rights or names to any of the characters.**

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**The Might of the Salean Country**

The ninja was silent for several moments as he let Fericul take it all in. Fericul just could not believe that his father had been defeated. Nor could he believe that his entire clan had been obliterated, and that he was the last Aeron. He was alone.

The ninja began to speak again, "I take it by your silence you must have been close to that particular Aeron."

"He was my father," Fericul replied.

"Oh, I am sorry. I would not have told you of that particular event," the ninja said. "Had I known. In any case, I shall continue with my story.

"The Saleans swept across the plains of Sabbathnia as though they were a plague of locusts. As I said before, they spared no one. It was a gruesome sight to behold. I myself was originally in one of the further-back lines of the army. It was my job to round up any Sabbathnian who had not been killed and bring them to a 're-education camp' as they were called. I do not know what they were subjected to inside those camps, but I never once saw a Sabbathnian leave them. Also they must have had constant, and very large, fires burning in them for there was always smoke rising out of the camps.

"I would say it took the army about nine months to reach the nation's capital. And wow, the battle there was amazing. I had been repositioned and placed in the front line by this time. I was also the head of a small infiltration unit that was ordered to get inside their leader's office and plant a wire so that we would be able to hear their plans. It worked quite well and we were able to obtain a great deal of strategic information. Without the bug, we may have been at the capital for several more months.

"One day though, we overheard something that could have turned the tides of the war completely. They were developing super-soldiers. Much like you now, they were faster, stronger, and amazingly talented in ninja techniques. As well, each had his own strange power that could be very dangerous to us. So my team was ordered to attack the transport unit bringing them to the capital. We were to inject them with a virus, so that even if their bodies were recovered, they could not be used for any kind of research.

"After that, the general in charge at the capital decided to retreat. I guess he saw that without these new soldiers, he had no chance in hell of victory. Or it may just have been an act of cowardice. Either way, the Saleans took Sabbathnia's capital and were still holding it last I heard."

The ninja stopped talking. He was extremely weak now, his life all but extinguished. He looked closely at Fericul for several moments before he realized it. _Fericul had been on that convoy! I myself injected him with a virus. How can this be? It would mean that he is one of the most powerful of all living Sabbathnians, for he was in the first selection of super-soldiers!_

The ninja tried to tell Fericul this last bit of information, but his strength was completely gone. He knew his time had come. He closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and slipped away into the great beyond.

Fericul knelt down beside the ninja, felt for a pulse, but realized he was gone. After removing the weapons pouch from his hip, Fericul decided he had to bury the ninja. _It is the honorable thing to do,_ he thought. _This man was a great warrior, though he was my enemy. And for that alone, I must give him a proper burial._

And so Fericul began to blast away at the ground, digging a grave with his wind powers. It was a good grave, three or four feet deep and just long enough to accommodate the ninja's body. He placed the body inside, and once he had enough dirt, he buried the ninja. He then used a kunai to carve a simple marker on the rock beside the grave, reading, "Great Salean Warrior". He then proceeded to do the same for the shinobi of Foyron. He dug the man a grave, buried him, and carved a headstone on a near by rock.

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**Testing It All Out**

After he had finished with the burials, Fericul decided it was time to test out his new powers. The Salean and the doctor had both mentioned his ability to use attacks he had seen just once. _That Earth Dragon technique the Foyronian used was pretty interesting, let's start with that, _he thought. Recalling what he had seen the ninja do, Fericul concentrated his spirit energy to his hands, moved his hands in the same movements, and yelled out, "Earth Dragon Technique!" The ground then began to shake, just as it had before, and suddenly it burst forward in the shape of an immense dragon. This dragon was far beyond what he had previously witnessed. _It appears that I am able to not only reproduce the enemy's techniques, but I am as well able to make them far stronger than what I had witnessed. Now let's try out that fire move the Salean used._

Again Fericul mimicked the movement of his enemy; gathering his energy together, focusing it into his hands, following the strange hand symbols, and shouting, "Rain of Fire!" several blasts of fire burst from his mouth. They too were much larger than the original attack he had seen. Also they traveled much farther, all the way to the stone pillars. When the fire blasts hit them, the pillars erupted in a fiery and extremely loud explosion.

"Well that settles my doubts on whether or not the doctor really screwed me over," Fericul said to no one. "Maybe things have not gone entirely bad. I mean, I am far more powerful than I could ever have hoped to become."

But just as he was saying that, the ceiling on the room he was in began to open up. Hundreds of men dropped down into the room, some shinobi, others simply soldiers. They surrounded Fericul even as they fell. Those with weapons trained them on him. The shinobi all gathered power and positioned themselves for attack.

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**A Dark Proposal**

One man stepped forward; a tall man, dressed neither in army fatigues nor a ninja's outfit. He was a tall man, not all that well built, with black hair, fair skin and dark brown eyes that were almost black. When he finally spoke, it was in a calm and soothing voice. "Surrender now Fericul of the Aerons and you will not be harmed. We are the last of Sabbathnia's Forces and we wish you to join us. As you no doubt learned from the two ninjas sent to attack you earlier, the Salean Country has occupied our country."

"Yeah, yeah. He told me all about the Saleans invading and taking the capital. He also mentioned how they killed every last Aeron, including burning my father alive," Fericul responded coldly. "But you know, he never once mentioned the Sabbathnian Army mobilizing in the Aeron's village to help them. I find that somewhat _odd_."

"Don't criticize us you insolent little brat," the man responded. "You have no idea of the situation we were in at the time. The unit attacking your village was not the only part of the Salean Army that had been mobilized against Sabbathnia. Our forces were concentrated in other more important areas. We assumed that the great Aerons would be able to take care of themselves, but I guess we were wrong."

"How dare you! Pretentious fool! You think that you are better than the Aerons!" Fericul yelled back in anger.

"Well, I am alive, aren't I? That's more than they can say," the man retorted.

"Yes, you are alive. Most people who run away do live longer than _men_ who stand and fight," Fericul said bitterly.

"Retreating is not running away! I am General Ridgley of the Sabbathnian Ninja Army!" the general yelled out. Fericul could sense that he was getting under his skin. "I did what I had to do as a leader. I cut my losses."

Fericul smirked and turned his back to the general. "I refuse. Go find yourself another pawn to throw out in the front line. I won't have any of this."

"Walk away from us now, and you may never have your chance for revenge on the Saleans," the general quickly said. "Join my army, and you will be able to fight within the year."

This intrigued Fericul very much. "Go on," he said. "Tell me how my joining you will get me my revenge any quicker."

The general smiled. "Well," he said. "I am planning to mount a massive counter-strike on the Saleans. We need your help. You are the quintessential piece of the puzzle. Join us, and you will be able to run rampant in the Salean Country, killing all you please."

Fericul contemplated the general's proposal for a moment before responding. _Damn, I have always hated the Sabbathnian Army. However, he is giving me the chance to avenge my clan and then some._

"Count me in," he said finally.


	5. Enter Koru

**Disclaimer: Okay, for the last time... I really don't own anything. Onto the story:**

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**Enter Koru**

After many weeks of training, Fericul was almost ready. He had undergone many trials as a member of the Sabbathnian Army. He learned many new techniques and fighting styles in his training and was now far more powerful than even his father had been. Fericul had become quite versed in his wind and water powers, and was now the super soldier the army had been hoping for.

"Fericul quit screwing around!" a man by the name of Koru yelled. "We do not have time for your nonsense."

Koru was in his mid twenties, and looked just right for his age. He was around six feet tall, with fairly tan skin. He weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds and so was pretty well built. He had long, black hair that hung down past his blazing green eyes.

Although Koru still had a youthful look to him, he carried an air about him that was more becoming of a man much more on in his life. This could be attributed to the fact that, like Fericul, his entire clan had been wiped out and he was the last of his kind. Unlike Fericul, Koru had seen it all firsthand. He was there, watching as his brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and even parents were mowed down as though they were mere blades of grass in the way of the Salean Shinobi Army.

They were not any kind of fighting clan; they were simply large and diverse family. Some were ninja, but not many. Most were ordinary people, with jobs in carpentry, construction, politics, and other things. And so when the Salean Shinobi Army marched on their town, they had not much to defend themselves with. It was all over in a few hours, they were simply no match.

Koru had been lucky; he was taken captive and had been sent to a re-education camp. His time inside was a horrible one; constantly having Salean propaganda shoved down his throat, daily backbreaking manual labor, and the ever-present threat of death by torture if he were to disobey his Salean captors. After a grueling three months in that hell-hole, he escaped with nothing but the clothes on his back. It was one night, just before a shift change, when the guards were most tired and inattentive. Koru attacked a new, younger guard and escaped without anyone else seeing him.

For two weeks he wandered the forests, searching for any remnants of the Sabbathnian Ninja Army. He traveled by night so his trek was slow going. Yet he did soon encounter a unit of the army. He told them his story, and they took him in. He was made a private, and yet within the year he grew through the ranks with shows of valor and great displays of his abilities as a ninja and a leader. He was made a sergeant and put in charge of a powerful first-strike unit whose job it was to obliterate the enemy before they could mount an attack. But as soon as the capital was taken, his unit was dissolved and he was put in charge of the new recruits to the army. And now he was personally training Fericul.

"I said hurry it up!" Koru yelled at Fericul. "We are late for your monthly inspection by the general."

"Oh come on," Fericul shouted back through the door. "I am getting ready for General Ridgley's nonsensical testing." He was in his bedroom putting on his outfit; regular black ninja clothes with his steel-lined, black trench coat over it all. General Ridgley was fond of attacking Fericul at random to make sure he was really preparing and so this time, Fericul wanted to be ready.

He opened the door and walked out into the hallway where Koru was waiting. "Let us go Koru," Fericul addressed him with much familiarity and although Koru disliked such informalities within his ranks, he allowed it with Fericul. "Do you think the general will be satisfied with my progress? I am getting quite tired of all of this waiting. I was told that I would be able to get my revenge soon. I appreciate all that _you_ have done for me Koru, but General Ridgley is getting on my nerves. He always says, 'next time, next time, next time you will be ready' but it never happens."

"Calm yourself," Koru spoke quietly as they began to walk through the barracks. "When you see the general, he will examine you one last time, and you will be given your first mission. I hope you are ready for this Fericul."

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	6. Ultimate Attack

**Disclaimer: And so... yeah, Iown absolutely zippo!**

**A/N: And so we have reached the last chapter :(.**

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**Let the Trials Begin**

Koru and Fericul approached the door leading into the inspection room. It was the same room that Fericul had woken up in after he first received the super soldier drug. He had been there every month since for the past 3 months and each time he was turned down for missions. The inspectors had told him that he was not fast enough, or that he was not strong enough, or that he could not think quickly enough to avoid dangerous situations.

_But this time will be different,_ Fericul thought as they entered the room._ I am much stronger, much faster, and I am able to analyze situations far faster than before. There is no way they can deny me combat now._

Fericul walked over to a large window on the wall, several feet above him. This was where the inspectors sat as they gauged his progress. He could see them quite clearly as they sat up in room with smug looks on their faces. _Three of them today. Two men, one woman,_ he thought. _I should pass easily._

"Send in the droids!" he shouted to the inspectors.

Fericul braced himself for the first wave of attacks._ BOOOOOM!_ The ground fifty feet in front of him erupted and ten ninja droids came flying out. All dressed in the same manner as the Salean and Foyronian who attacked him so long ago. They came at him, kunai bared and ready to strike. _Flit! Flit! Flit!_ A few threw their kunai, but Fericul easily dodged them.

Fericul had long since developed a technique where he stored his spirit energy away, and called it out during battle. And, as his exam was only once a month, he could save up a fairly large amount. Now he called just a bit out, only enough to defeat the ten ninja in a single attack. He formed the hand seals, as he had learned they were called, for his attack, poured out his energy and thrust his hand into the ground. Immediately the Earth Dragon shot out and wiped out the ninjas all at once. Another trick Fericul had learned; he did not need to shout the name, it was entirely optional in moves with hand seals. Only his Aeron wind techniques required no hand seals but instead the usage of a voice command.

Just as the ninja were defeated however, the second wave came. The roof opened up and soldier droids poured down. It must have been two hundred of them, all fully armored and carrying full auto machine guns. Again Fericul released a minimal amount of energy, formed hand seals, but this time shouted the name, "Speed of the Gods" before he attacked, calling the name was mainly to show off to the inspectors. In the blink of an eye Fericul shot forward, pulled out a kunai, and began to pick off the droids one at a time. Again, it was over in moments.

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**The Third Wave and the Ultimate Attack**

And then the third wave came. A huge bunker opened up on the floor at the far side of the room. Giant hands emerged from the doorway as it was opening and forced them the rest of the way. Out from the darkness emerged a creature of unimaginable horror; the first experiment with super soldier drug number one. He was over eleven feet tall, with huge, bulging muscles. His biceps were easily bigger around than Fericul's whole chest. His skin was a dark blue-green, scaly and shiny. He had a large protruding lower jaw, with crooked, yellowed teeth sticking out. His hair, jet black with streaks of crimson red running through it like lightning bolts. He wore big, clanking armor as though he were a knight and carried a large straight sword at his side.

But it was his eyes that were the most depressing. In them one could see the immense anguish this creature was in. He was no longer a human, but was not superior to them in any way. He was now considered a beast, a throw away object. He could not even speak real words now that he was this way. He was forced to fight despite his already immense punishment. He had been a last resort weapon of the army in some battles, for he was endowed with all of the abilities that drug one gave and even more. But the poor soul did none of this by his free will. He wore a shock collar on his neck, and that was how he was made to do these things which he despised so much.

And now he had been ordered to kill Fericul. He rushed forward, with speed near to Fericul's Speed of the Gods technique. He rushed in and with a straight right jab to the chest sent Fericul careening backwards.

Fericul knew he had to act quickly or it would be all over as fast as the last attacks, but not in his favor. He pumped out large amounts of spirit energy this time, formed the seals, and used Speed of the Gods combined with Super Strength Enhancement. The large amount of spirit energy used would allow him to maintain both techniques for a long period of time, giving him an edge in the battle.

Fericul launched himself forward at the creature and began to punch him repeatedly in the head. The monster flung Fericul away, whipped out his straight sword, and charged Fericul again. Quickly, over and over he lunged at Fericul. At first Fericul dodged the sword with ease, but as the monster kept coming, he found it harder and harder to escape. Soon the monster began cut Fericul, and then slice. After that he slashed and finally, Fericul had been tired out so much he pierced Fericul's left arm.

Fericul screamed in pain and leapt backwards. He was now without the majority of his attacks. _But wait!_ He thought as the idea of not being able to attack rushed through his mind. _I could use 'It'. The question is will it be enough? And can I even pull it off? Oh well, it is all I have left, so I must._

Fericul flew into the air and closed his eyes. He began to form hand seals with only his right hand while chanting a strange set of words that were not of this world. Then, in an instant, he disappeared.

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**A/N: More to come? That depends on whether the writer should wish it... I will try to the best of my ability to persuade him. -Jela**


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